Yesterday, Friday I had my first dealing with Chilean bureaucracy. I am in Chile on a temporary residency visa and therefore have to get an identity card. This is a two stage process. The first stage is to visit the Policia de Investigaciones Chile (PDI) to get a certificate to confirm that I am a foreigner with the correct visa. This is a rather busy place where the procedure seems to be to obtain a ticket with a number on it, for a small fee of course, a bit like the cheese counter at the supermarket. Then you sit and wait with all the other foreigners until your number is called. Interestingly, all the PDI people at the desks were women possibly because maybe you were less inclined to get aggressive with a woman when they refused you the right to remain in Chile. Fortunately someone at the university, Don Christian, who I had arranged to meet, knew someone there and so somehow I jumped the queue. I already realising that in Chile knowing someone who knows someone is quite useful when dealing with bureaucracy. They took my photo and other bits of important information and gave me the ‘certificado de registro de visa’ I needed. Don Christian and I set off on a mission to stage 2. At this point I wasn’t really sure what stage 2 involved as Don Christian, my trusted guide through the process, didn’t speak a word of English. So I followed him to the Metro station and we got a on a train in the direction of the university, at this stage I wasn’t even sure there was a stage 2 so I thought maybe that was it. We occasionally tried to have a conversation on the train but it usually didn’t get very far, I nodded as if I understood and he smiled knowing completely well I hadn’t understood a word; so most of the time we both stared out of the window in uncomfortable and rather frustrating silence. We didn’t get off the train at the University so I quickly worked out we were going somewhere else. Somewhere else turned out to be the ‘Registro Civil’ in a place called Vespucio, a few stops down the line. Once again, we took a numbered ticket, this time for free and sat down to wait. The wait lasted around 45-60 minutes, I lost track of time as I got totally absorbed in watching the locals come and go. Chileans seem to have certainly learned that patience is indeed a virtue, a quality that is probably essential in a city of 6 million. Anyway, eventually we got called up and a pleasant smiling chap took my photo, 4000 chilean pesos (around $8) and my finger print electronically. He then also took my finger prints the old fashioned way using ink and paper and then sent us on our way with me clutching a piece of paper, that Don Christian I think told me was very important. We headed back to the university with me wondering where my small piece of plastic identity card was, maybe there was a stage 3? Once back at the university I was introduced to a Paola Flores who spoke some English and explained the situation to me, apparently I have to go back to the ‘Registro Civil’ once my identity card is ready. So that was how I spent Friday morning. Respect to the Don!

I have to write a few words about the University where I am now working, I have an office in the theoretical physics department, I have always really been an experimental physicist but I think there was a spare desk there.  I keep expecting Sheldon from the Big Bang theory to walk into my office at any time. I have been to lunch a few times with a few people from the department and it was pretty interesting, we spent one lunchtime discussing the merits of programming in Mathematica versus FORTRAN and eventually the conversation predictably turned to the merits of PC versus Macs.  There are quite a few other foreigners in the department so English seems to be the language of choice. On the subject of languages I have been organising Spanish lessons; English is really not widely spoken so I am keen to learn as its pretty frustrating losing the power of communication. There also is a gym on campus as well which I am hoping to join before my fitness drops, I’ve been on a few runs a couple of evenings, it stays light until  8.15 pm here at the moment and it’s still dark at 7 am in the mornings which I quite like as I am not really a morning person. Queenslanders take note, the local cows seem to cope with daylight saving, at least there seems to be a plentiful supply of milk in the supermarkets and I haven’t noticed any significant curtain fading!

Till next time

A